Why You Should Be Taking Margot Robbie Very Seriously

When you think Aussie actress Margot Robbie, a particular image of a blonde vixen probably comes to mind. Perhaps she’s got a pink pump on Leonardo DiCaprio’s forehead or maybe she’s in a bubble bath explaining the economy. Better yet, she might be vamping her way down a red carpet like a blonde bombshell of yore.

But if you want to get a better sense of who Margot Robbie is, you have to look closer at her work and her choices. The truth is Margot Robbie is a brilliant character actress who just so happens to come in the package of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.

Since her breakthrough performance in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Robbie has chosen work that lets her use her looks to disarm the audience (and other characters in the story). In Focus, she plays a grifter who convinces a big-time con artist (Will Smith) to take her under his wing. In Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, she’s a gorgeous foreign war correspondent whose appearance serves to intimidate, inspire, and beguile Tina Fey’s Kim Baker. And in this summer’s Suicide Squad, she’ll be tasked with bringing the complex anti-heroine Harly Quinn to life. Each of these choices flexes different acting muscles and all of them teach us not to judge Robbie’s character’s at face value.

Margot Robbie also had a rare opportunity to throw down and prove her mettle on a tense, live stage. I’m talking, of course, about her post-Super Bowl interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Now, that might not seem like a big deal, but it was. It was a high pressure live interview where Robbie was tasked with keeping up banter with Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey. Every other guest on the program that night was someone who was a tried and true live performer. Colbert, Fey, Will Ferrell, Keegan Michael Key, and Jordan Peele all rank as some of the best improv comedy talents to ever grace the stage or screen and Megyn Kelly’s job is going on live television to deliver the news.

Robbie, however, is not supposed to be good on “her feet.” She’s not an improv giant or news anchor. She’s not even a stage actress, brought up with the tools to entertain a living, breathing audience. She’s an Aussie soap star who’s in the process of making herself into a modern movie star. In that moment, Robbie didn’t waffle. In fact, she kind of stole the focus away from both Fey and Colbert by telling a revealing — and embarrassing story about herself.

And that’s the thing about Margot Robbie: She keeps getting better and better! She’s continually peeling back new layers in her performances, trying on new accents, and pushing herself out of the comfortable “hot girl” box Hollywood would normally cage her in. Which is why it’s really important to not count her out of the same categories that put the Jennifer Lawrences, Alicia Vikanders, and Saoirse Ronans of the industry. Robbie has the chops, she’s just choosing to slink her way to the top, beguiling us and surprising us with all the tricks she’s got up her sleeve.

So don’t be surprised if Robbie winds up nominated for Oscars in the future or sitting atop a couple of massive Hollywood franchises. As ingenues go, we should be taking Margot Robbie very seriously.